swarfeater 49 #1 Posted May 2, 2014 had to remove the spindles and pulleys from this 42" deck, well the pulleys did not want to come off . heat, banging, heat, penetrating oil, banging,, heat, ect, ect, ect. they would not budge, so i looked on the forum for similar problem and saw the pulleys had no keys in them. so i took the old belt (bad) and cut it. tied one end to the heighth adjuster, wrapped around the pulley twice, then pulled it around the other side of the deck in a way i could get a good grip and pull it tight. already had the blade off, so an impact wrench on the blade side of the spindle and a bit of tugging on the belt and presto, the pulleys spun off with no damage. i might make a tool that would be a belt with hook on one end a couple feet of belt and a bar bolted on the other end of belt where it could be jammed somewhere on the deck and pulled tight with the bar as a handle. that would squeeze pretty tight on the pulley and get a grip, the impact worked well. then again there probably already is such a tool somewhere. hope this helps someone else out there. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,029 #2 Posted May 2, 2014 Good idea for holding the pulley. This is a good application for Never-Seize. The standard free-running nut and lockwasher is all that holds the pulley from spinning on the shaft. The direction of rotation keeps the nut tight. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC9KAS 4,741 #3 Posted May 3, 2014 Here is the tool you need. There are many sizes and prices for a STRAP WRENCH Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tankman 3,518 #4 Posted May 3, 2014 Here is the tool you need. There are many sizes and prices for a STRAP WRENCH Beat me to the post, I was just going to say, "Get a good strap wrench." Handy to have one for all kinds of projects / problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tankman 3,518 #5 Posted May 3, 2014 (edited) Edited May 3, 2014 by Tankman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc724 925 #6 Posted May 3, 2014 I have had many a tussle with pulleys. Destroyed more than I can count and they are expensive. The newer decks have non keyed straight spindles and straight pulley bores-fairly easy to get off. I think I recall that the late 70's decks had tapered spindles and tapered pulley bores. Once you socked down the nut, you had 100% contact between the pulley and spindle. I wish I had known about never sieze then! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shorts 182 #7 Posted May 4, 2014 You might want to rethink the neverseize, it may lead to the pulleys spinning on the shafts while in use cutting heavy grass, clean and dry assembly like the factory did it might be the right way to prevent other issues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,029 #8 Posted May 4, 2014 It's not going to slip with the 80-100 ft lbs. of torque on the top nut. The metric pulleys don't slip with the 50-90 ft lbs recommended for them. Garry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
